To summarize, a reader wants a gritty, dark, and epic alien
invasion science fiction romance. Presumably, the invaded planet is Earth. Possibly
featuring an alien hero. And I’m guessing a story with at least a 50-50 SF to
romance ratio—more romance than a romantic SF story would supply. No chest-thumping
barbarians or hentai tentacle action, check.

So when Ms. Wallace tweeted at me, I began thinking about title
possibilities. Unfortunately, the more I thought, the more I began to suspect
that the type of story has_bookpushers wanted was few and far between. Extremely few and far between. Kind of surprising given the popularity of space opera and military SF in various mediums.

As I reflected further, many issues came to mind regarding this type of story
(which I also want to read, by the way!). First, if one is going to tell an
alien invasion story with a prominent romance, the process involves several key ingredients. I’m going
to present them in random order.

One, an ensemble cast. With this type of story, you’ve got
to have, well, a bunch of aliens. Then there’s the hero. The heroine. Their
crew or brigade if they’re on a space ship and/or part of the military. At least
one superior officer or political authority they’d report to. Plus various
supporting characters (someone’s gotta cook!). Those are just a few examples—more
could be required depending on the story.

An author also has to decide military hierarchy and general
operations. Are we talking planet-based forces or space forces? Or both? How does
military personnel travel from point A to point B, and how quickly? Where are
the military bases located? How do the aliens get around, for that matter? Will
there be space battles?

Genre tags like "alien invasion" and
"military SF" are very loaded. They come with a *lot* of territory
and only so much of it can be whittled down for accessibility before it becomes
useless.

Third, action. If you have military heroes and heroines with
weapons, they’ve got to do something
with those weapons. Y’know, like battle the aliens. Please don’t dress them up
in fancy mecha gear with no place to go (or worse—sit
around and talk for two-thirds of the book).

Fourth, how long will this invasion last? What part of the
invasion does the author want to cover—pre-invasion, active invasion, or
post-invasion? How about all three?

Fifth: an author also has to consider what types of aliens
are involved. Are they humanoid? Biomech? Shapeshifters? Something else
altogether? Are the hero and heroine physically compatible in all ways, or
would certain adjustments be involved? Do they speak the same language? Can
they eat the same food? What interpersonal themes would an author like to
explore based on the alien race’s genetic makeup as well as their reason for
invading?

Sixth, who does one write the story for? Does an author
choose a kick-butt heroine or stick with the Alpha hero and non-kick-butt
heroine dynamic? Would a non-kick butt heroine be plausible in an alien
invasion story if she has to fight?

Where is the culture at in terms of gender
politics when the alien invasion occurs? What are the readers’ expectations for gender politics in such a story? That’s a
key question right there if you ask me. SFR alien invasion stories
could succeed or fail among romance readers based on the hero-heroine dynamic alone. If an author
chooses an unpopular one, her story could wind up as burnt toast no matter how
high the overall quality.

Finally, the overarching question: How does one integrate
the epic scale of an alien invasion story with the intimacy of a romance so
they work together smoothly?

Can it be done? Oh sure. I actually feel confident about
that part. But the practical issues involved could prevent this kind of story
from even moving beyond the idea stage.

Telling this kind of tale would require a huge commitment
from an author. I can’t see doing this kind of story justice in a single
novella, so novel-length would be the most strategic (or a 3-5 novella series).

Most of those writing for digital-first publishers would have to finish the
whole book (or books, if a series) without any kind of advance. Then they’d
have to market the book (s). If they’re lucky, they might even have a few
hundred dollars to spend on the campaign. Or an author might decide to
self-publish this story, and to do it well there would be cost involved (not
the least of which is time).

Despite what I just wrote, the odds aren’t insurmountable. It
could happen. Maybe it already has and we simply don’t know about it.
Therefore, I’d like to crowdsource a list of gritty, dark alien invasion SFRs
that fit (or hits pretty close) what has_bookpushers was seeking.

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About Me

Heather’s debut sci-fi romance novel, Once Upon a Time in Space, features the last living descendant of Christopher Columbus on a desperate quest to find a new world. Standing in his way is Raquel, the deadliest space pirate in the galaxy.